This business of dealing with thoughts, beliefs, opinions,
and facts is challenging. In the era of computers, cable TV, blogs and a
gazillion emails, twitter, YouTube, and other images rapidly disseminated
throughout the digital universe, there is a proliferation of material to deal
with.
Perhaps the simplest method of dealing with it is ignoring
it?
We go to church and hear Biblical lessons read and sermons
delivered on those readings. We accept much as truth. We have been conditioned
to do so. But not all of it is true. Not really.
For example, Dan Savage, gay American author, pundit,
newspaper editor and columnist, shares this thought with us:
“The shortest book in the New
Testament is a letter from Paul to a Christian slave owner, about owning his
Christian slave.
And Paul doesn't say, “Christians
don’t own people.” Paul talks about how Christians
own people.
We ignore what the Bible says
about slavery because the Bible got slavery wrong.
If the bible got the easiest
moral question that humanity has ever faced wrong, what are the odds that the
Bible got something as complicated as human sexuality wrong?”
Indeed, slavery was a common thing in Biblical times. That
didn't make it right then or now. We accept that as an amended understanding,
don’t we? Sort of like the American Constitution and the Bill of Rights? The
founding fathers didn't get everything right at the beginning, but they got a
lot right, and many things had to be changed, or amended, along the way. It’s OK for that to happen. But then, to what
extent to we blankly accept some of the other contents of the Bible, or the
Constitution for that matter. What did
the writers actually intend by their words? In the Bible and in the
Constitution?
Good questions. It shakes some of our faith, I guess, but it
also allows our brains to be fruitful. We can think on these things and come to
different conclusions.
That’s one way opposing views emerge in society. And over
time. Lots of time!
Take the political game being made out of the attack on our
Libyan consulate in Benghazi .
Politicians and news pundits have long tried to make political hay out of this
event as a failing of President Obama and then Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton. But consider:
“The next time your crazy,
Fox-News-addicted uncle starts ranting about Benghazi ,
ask him this: why did Congressional Republicans cut Obama’s requests for
embassy security by $128 million in 2011 and $331 million in 2012, and then
ignore Hillary Clinton’s warnings that the cuts would be ‘detrimental to America
Opposing view or willful misstatement of the facts? Which is
it? On the one hand it sound like Senators McCain and Lindsay Graham make a
good point in their fault finding; but then we look at the context and facts
and another, very different picture takes shape. This is an example of facts
being hi-jacked for political gain.
It is important, however, that we understand the facts and
the truth. Whether mistakes were made or not, it matters that we understand
what happened and why so we can avoid such disastrous results in the future.
People of goodwill can do this sort of thing. Opposing politicians evidently
cannot. Because the conditions creating the disaster at Benghazi have yet to be fixed. That’s the job
of Congress. They need to step up to the plate and make the policy decisions
and funding allocations.
Opposing views. Like a president who leads with words of
wisdom. Yet followers of those words are not evident because that would take
political courage and conviction by people of the opposition party. So nothing
gets done. Just arguments tossed back and forth. And then when that same
president takes matters in his own hands and speaks of his intention to solve
problems by executive order, the opposition calls him a tyrannical monster.
Like George W. Bush and Richard Cheney and all of their executive orders? Remember all of those?
Opposition. Perhaps we need to eliminate opposition parties
and design a new system of representation in American government? How much more damage are we to measure before
people of goodwill actually sit down and figure out the right things to do in
managing the affairs of our nation?
Evidently the politicians still don’t get this. The people
get it. Obama gets it. Why not the republicans and congressional leaders – both
house and senate?
Remember the wise words of Thomas Jefferson, who, in 1816
wrote this:
“The end of democracy and the
defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the
hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations.”
Haven’t we reached this point? I think we have. How then to
we correct this horror before it does more damage to the nation? When will
voices of calm reason reassert themselves in our halls of government?
Indeed, that is the very real task needing to be done.
Opposition is healthy when it informs us of logic and facts. Otherwise it is a
barrier to progress needed by the people.
February 6, 2014
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